Emilio carles y amat



(No Model.)

B. GABLES Y AMAT.

. TENSION RBGULATING DEVICE FOR GABLES. No. 581,645. Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

: 4;? Emmi i i i I I l WITNESSES M EMA/Q ATTORNEYS.

llniirnn Sra'rns T FIFICEQ EMILIO CABLES Y AMAT, OF BARCELONA, SPAIN.

TENSION-REGULATING DEVICE FOR CABLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,645, dated April 2'7, 1897. Application filed November 24,1896. fierial No. 613,330. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMILIO CABLES Y AMAT, a subject of the King of Spain, residing at Barcelona, Spain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tension-Regulating Devices for Cables; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in tension-regulating devices to adjust the tension on wire cables, endless chains, and the like; and it consists in certain novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

The essential feature of this invention consists in a hook or clasp engaging the lever held by a spring, the spring being adjusted to the maximum limit of strain to which the cable should be subjected.

Reference is had to the accompanying d rawings, in which the same parts are indicated by the same letters throughout both views.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved tension-regulating device with the inclosing plate removed, and Fig. 2 is an end view of the same.

A represents the armature or frame, provided with an eye A, adapted to receive one end II of the cable. The opposite end G of the cable is secured to the eye B of the link 13, which is provided with forked arms connected by the cross-pin F, engaging in the crotch E of the lever E, which lever is pivoted between the armature A and the plate I on the pin D. It will be seen that this lever E, provided with the crotch E, is in effect a bell-crank lever having two arms at a very sharp angle. The upper end of this lever E engages the spring 0, which is composed of a plurality of sheets of steel secured to the armature by means of the block C and the screw M, and the stiifness of the said spring may be altered at will by varying the number or the shapes of the said plates.

It willbe seen that the pin F acts with a very short lever-arm relative to the pivot D, but the relative proportions of the long and short lever-arms of the lever E may be varied as may be desired, whereby the apparatus may be adjusted for heavy or light cables or other purposes.

In order to prevent the lever E from swinging back too far when the cable is slack, a stop L is provided, while to prevent the pin F from coming out of engagement with the part G when the cable is slack the pawl K is provided, which pawl is pivoted, as at 7c, and is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by means of the spring K, secured to the pin it.

In order to disengage the pin F from the crotch E when the cable is slack, it will only be necessary to press the pawl K against the spring K until the said pawl passes clear of the end of the link B, when the said pin F may be readily disengaged from the crotch E.

By an inspection of Fig. 1 it will be seen that the spring 0 will hold the lever E in the position shown in Fig. 1 until the strain on the cable becomes so great as to cause the lever E to press the spring 0 back to the left until the end of the said lever escapes from engagement with the said spring, when the lever E will continue to swing to the left, as indicated by the arrow, until the pin F is drawn out of engagement with the crotch E and the end G of the cable will be disconnected from the tension-regulating device. In this way the cable will be protected against excessive strains, the tension-regulating device being adapted to act when the minimum limit of tensile strength of the cable is reached.

It will be obvious that various modifications of the herein-described apparatus might be made which could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. An apparatus adapted to limit the tension on a cable, consisting essentially of a frame, a bell-crank lever pivoted in said frame, a spring normally engaging one of the arms of said bell-crank lever, means for connectin g one end of the cable to the other arm of the bell-crank lever, means for connecting the said frame to the other end of the said cable, and a springoperated pawl adapted to hold said cable in said bell-crank lever, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with a frame, and means for securing one end of a cable thereto, of a bell-crank lever pivoted in said frame and provided with a crotch, a spring normally adapted to hold said bell-crank lever in position, a link adapted to en gage said crotch and to be secured to the opposite end of said cable, and a spring-operated pawl pivoted in said frame and adapted to engage said link when the cable is slack, substantially as described.

3. An apparatus adapted to limit the tension on a cable, consisting essentially of a frame, a bellcrank lever pivoted in said frame, a spring composed of a plurality of steel plates normally engaging one of the arms of said bell-crank lever, means for connecting one end of the cable to the other arm of the bell-crank lever and means for connecting the said frame to the other end of the said cable, substantially as described.

l. An apparatus adapted to limit the tension on a cable, consisting essentially of a frame, a bell-crank lever pivoted in said frame, a spring composed of a plurality of steel plates normally engaging one of the arms of said bell-crank lever, means for connecting one end of the cable to the other arm of the bell-crank lever, means for connecting the said frame to the other end of the said cable, and means for normally holding said cable secured to said bell-crank lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

EMILIO CABLES Y AMAT. lVitnesses:

HERBERT W. BOWEN, JUAN GAVARRO. 

